


Absolution is a Ten-Letter Word

by oiyukis



Category: Kuroshitsuji | Black Butler
Genre: Demons, Gen, Historical References, M/M, Poorly Hidden Symbolism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-02
Updated: 2014-09-02
Packaged: 2018-02-15 20:38:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,606
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2242761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oiyukis/pseuds/oiyukis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was a rare occurrence when the young master called Sebastian as he was instead of the name he’d bestowed upon him. Even separated as they were, Sebastian felt the call in the very bones of the body he’d crafted for himself.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Absolution is a Ten-Letter Word

**Author's Note:**

> I wasn't going to finish this tonight, but we got a tornado warning and I would have had to stay up anyway, so it was completed. 
> 
> Absolution is a Ten-Letter Word, as is another important ten-letter word in this story. I wonder if my symbolism is too obvious here, ahah.
> 
>  
> 
> [also on tumblr](http://oiyukis.tumblr.com/post/103102991073/absolution-is-a-ten-letter-word)

“Demon.”

It was a rare occurrence when the young master called Sebastian as he was instead of the name he’d bestowed upon him. Even separated as they were – the young master in his study and Sebastian putting the final meticulous touches on the dessert said master was sure to demand later on in the night – Sebastian felt the call in the very bones of the body he’d crafted for himself.

Sebastian was as far from this world as one could be, but he had wandered the human realm long enough to find certain things pleasurable: the fleeting companionship of those that were utterly dependent on him, the static in the air during a summer thunderstorm, and even, in some lifetimes, the tasks he was set to do by the master he claimed to be subservient to.

If Sebastian was wholly honest with himself – and he always was, for demons hardly had the need to lie when the truth was a more viable weapon – he did not care for the mundane goal his current master was striving toward.

Revenge left such a petty taste on the soul.

Of course, that was not to say that he did not desire the soul of his youngest master. The Earl Phantomhive was a gem amongst the last few centuries of forgettable contracts. His young master was not afraid to crawl in the mud if it meant he could swat at whatever fly had put itself between him and his revenge, and that was something Sebastian could appreciate.

Ah, but he shouldn’t spend any more time musing over what would be his in the end. He chided himself, briefly, at unintentionally provoking his own hunger.

Again, he felt a _pull_.

The young master was getting impatient.

Sebastian stepped away from the countertop and towards the door of the young master’s study. It was easy, traveling through the manor when the servants were gone, though it was doubtful they would have been able to see how quickly he moved if they’d been there to watch.

He knocked once before he entered the study, his curiosity not particularly piqued. He doubted the Earl could make a demand he hadn’t heard and satisfied in the last few months – his young master had unfortunately fallen into the habit of being predictable.

“You called?”

The boy, sitting in a chair far too big for him and bent over paperwork far too old for him, glanced up, irritation evident in his visible eye. “What took you so long?”

“I was merely in the middle of a task that couldn’t be immediately dropped.”

“There is no task that can’t be immediately dropped if I summon you.”

“My apologies,” Sebastian feigned a smile. “How may I help the young master tonight?”

“I wish to have a discussion with you.” He tapped his fingers against the wooden surface of the desk. “Before we start, I’d like to remind you that you are not allowed to lie to me.”

“Of course.”

He nodded, sitting back and giving the impression of a child trying to fill an adult’s shoes. Sebastian’s assessment, of course, was accurate, though perhaps it wasn’t an adult’s shoes he was trying to fill.

“Tell me about your former contractors.”

Sebastian blinked, mildly surprised by the question. Perhaps tonight would be less predictable than he’d originally thought.

“May I ask why?”

“No,” his master frowned. “Just answer the question.”

“Considering, Young Master, that this matter involves myself, I believe I have all rights to know why you want me to divulge this information.”

“ _Tche_ , do you even care that you’d be telling it?”

Sebastian smiled in response.

“Fine,” his master cursed and called him a name that, while accurate, was no doubt intended as an insult. “We’ve been under contract for a long time. I found myself wondering if it was normal for you, to be bound to one person this long, which led to a general curiosity.”

“You’re curious about me, Young Master?”

“Not really.” He feigned disinterest by running his fingers over the documents spread before him. “I’m more interested in what happened to your contractors.”

“I took their souls, of course.”

The Earl frowned at him, “obviously. I meant _before_ that, Sebastian.”

Sebastian remained silent, waiting for elaboration. There were a great many things he could respond with, but what was it the young master wanted to hear? How each of them met their gruesome end? How, after a few centuries, they begin to fade from his long memory? Nothing, save the faint glimmer of a name, stood the test of time.

“Well?”

“I’m unsure of what you’re asking for, young master.”

“Tell me about them. Who was the last person you made a contract with?”

Ah, that wasn’t so hard. His last contract hadn’t faded from his memory quite yet.

“I was last in the human realm in 1875.”

The young earl’s lips parted, surprised by the information.

“Coincidence,” Sebastian said. “You can rest assured, I was not even aware of your existence then, young master.”

He scoffed, “that was hardly a concern.”

Sebastian smiled and felt the edges of his mouth straining to contain it. “One could say I didn’t have much to do in 1875. My contract was a simple one. I was hardly here a month.”

“What about the longest you’ve been here?”

“That would likely be during the 13th Century,” Sebastian replied. “I was under no contract then, however.”

“You can be here without a contract?”

“If the situation allows it. It must be…hm, I suppose the apt saying would be _hell on earth_. You would have learned about it in school, if you’d attended.”

“I did attend,” he said, petulant. “I had tutors. You’re referring to the Mongolian Invasion?”

“I am. Myself, and quite a few others of my kind, were able to keep our forms in the human realm for more than three decades. Panic, bloodshed, war…”

“That’s an ideal situation to you?”

“An ideal situation overall, perhaps. I don’t find personal pleasure in such poor displays of humanity.”

“Demons have no wars, then?”

“We had one.”

The young master was silent, no doubt trying to remember what little he knew of the bible.

“We call it The Fall,” Sebastian supplied the information for him. “I don’t think I have to elaborate that particular story, do I?”

“Have you really been alive for that long?”

“I have been alive longer, young master.”

“You’re not…” He paused, biting his lip. “You’re not _the_ devil, are you? Surely you would have mentioned that.”

“You may believe whatever you like about me, young master. In the end, it doesn’t matter.”

“You’ll have my soul regardless,” the young earl murmured.

“Yes,” Sebastian said.

“Strange.” He slumped a little in the chair, finally taking his eyes off Sebastian. “I almost find comfort in that.”

“My, my.” Sebastian raised both his eyebrows. “You’re being rather forward tonight, young master.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I’m being nothing of the sort.”

He was, though, whether or not he’d admit to it, and Sebastian could feel his eyes burn, the hunger in his gullet sparked. “Do you view me as your savior, perhaps?”

The Earl froze, cheeks taking on a light flush. 

“I don’t remember the time before I was a demon, but I doubt I’d enjoy anything more. If you would rather view me as an angel, however, I will not stop you.”

“ _You_ -!”

“It’s clear you crave forgiveness.” Sebastian moved closer, tracing his gloved fingers over the surface of the desk. “What, I wonder, do you think you need forgiveness for?”

“Sebastian!”

He gripped his master’s chin lightly, tracing up the column of his pale throat before applying pressure to his jaw. The Earl’s eye narrowed, uncomfortable with the strain on his bones, but not with the proximity.

“You have done nothing that requires forgiveness, Young Master, and if you think there is something…” Sebastian leans closer, “I will not let you have it. Your soul does not belong to heaven.”

He could feel his master clench his teeth. “I-.”

“Do you still believe you can be Saved, young master?”

“Unhand me, Sebastian,” the young master said sharply.

Sebastian waited a moment before he complied, reigning himself in until he felt like a butler once more.

“It is not your place to question me,” his master frowned. “What I believe doesn’t change the matter at hand. My soul…” He cleared his throat, turning back to the papers on his desk. “I’ve already sold my soul to you. Forgiveness is not in my future.”

“No,” Sebastian agreed. “Not from Heaven, at least.”

“Well I hardly want forgiveness from hell,” he scoffed. “This conversation is over. I have more work to do.”

“Shall I bring you a snack, young master?”

Sebastian was eyed for a moment by the boy before he inclined his head. “That will be all.”

“Very good, my little lord.”

The Earl didn’t comment on the title, pulling one of the papers towards him in clear dismissal. Sebastian left the room in a few long strides, and despite the young master’s declaration of the conversation being over, it still rang in Sebastian’s head.

He wondered if his master had gotten the information he’d wanted.

Unintentionally, his eyes burned again, recalling how the young master’s tone had sounded when he’d first mentioned forgiveness. The Earl might have said he didn’t need it, but Sebastian wasn’t sure he believed him.

He would have to be more careful around such subjects in the future. Ciel Phantomhive was the most interesting meal he’d had in centuries, and he had no intention of letting such a treat slip away.

**Author's Note:**

> .  
> .  
> .  
>  I almost cringe when I look at this story because of all the grammatical inconsistencies, but they were all made intentionally. Things that are capitalized are supposed to be, and things that aren't aren't supposed to be. Ugh, this piece hurts me.  
> .


End file.
